Student Attitudes and Behavior Surveys

FCD has a long tradition of incorporating the latest research on effective prevention into its comprehensive approach. Based on the documented impact of normative beliefs on levels of use, FCD has developed, in collaboration with leading experts in the field, programs and services that utilize this model to enhance the long-standing effectiveness of our work with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and school communities. The integration of these strategies brings added benefit to our school clients and continues to ensure FCD's place at the cutting edge of school-based prevention.

The social norms model is based on the fact that young people consistently and dramatically overestimate alcohol and other drug use by their peers and elders. At the same time, they underestimate healthy behaviors practiced by their peers (e.g., abstention, limiting consumption). This is disturbing because research shows that normative beliefs (student perceptions as to the prevalence and acceptability of drug use amongst one's peer group and close friends) are a strong predictor of the level of actual alcohol and other drug use in a school community. In other words, the more use students think there is, the more use there will be. Drug use is less prevalent in schools where non-use is recognized as an acceptable and common choice, and student misperceptions regarding the actual amount of drug use are corrected.

The social norms approach, as applied to students, has two primary components. The first is data collection. Students are surveyed to uncover actual behaviors and attitudes concerning alcohol and other drug use, as well as perceptions of their peers' behaviors and attitudes. These surveys typically reveal the previously mentioned overestimation of unhealthy behaviors and attitudes, and underestimation of healthy ones. The second component of the social norms model addresses these misperceptions by utilizing data demonstrating positive norms as the basis for normative feedback interventions (e.g., a media or marketing campaign, small group norms classroom activities, etc.). This reinforces positive behaviors and dispels the myth that "everybody" is engaging in unhealthy activities. The interventions, developed with and by members of the school community, are designed to reflect the singular characteristics of the school and the target audience as revealed by the data collected.

FCD is unique among prevention organizations in having the technical capability to offer online normative belief surveys and interventions to our client schools. Our services include:

Survey administration and data analysis to assess actual and perceived levels of use within the school community
Normative belief interventions to reduce student use of alcohol and other drugs
Small group normative belief classroom exercises
Workshops for teachers on how to use social norms constructs in substance abuse prevention, classroom work, informal relations with students, and other areas of community health (e.g., bullying, tolerance, diversity).